Positioned 30 kilometres from Messina and 8.5 kilometres inland from Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Castroreale is a Sicilian town of 2,548 residents. Its Latin-derived name translates to "royal fortress", pointing to the castle erected in 1324 by Frederick II of Aragon, where a solitary tower still stands.
Member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia association, the town packs over 80 churches and 13th-century stone houses into its historic perimeter. It serves as a compact destination for architecture enthusiasts exploring the province of Messina.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
Compare hotels, B&Bs and holiday homes on Booking.com for your dates.
Next up: Saint Sylvester and the foiled attack of 1538, Thursday 31 December
Nearest airport: Reggio Calabria, 38 km away
No events match these filters.
📅 Every year, on 31 December
Castroreale celebrates Pope Saint Sylvester on 31 December: the cult stems from an attack foiled on that same day in 1538, attributed to the saint's intercession, who was thereafter elected patron.
Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo inside a golden cone-shaped crust: in Catania it is masculine and pointed, and the quarrel with Palermo over the name is serious.
Read more →A thin sheet of dough folded into a half-moon and fried, with escarole, tuma cheese, anchovies and black pepper inside: Messina’s street food, to eat hot straight from the rosticceria.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Castroreale, but an easy day trip away.
